United States Patent

An energy metering method and apparatus for liquid flow systems comprising first and second segments of one or more conduits through which a liquid flows, comprising: attaching a first temperature sensor for connection to an outside of the first conduit segment; attaching a second temperature sensor for connection to an outside of the second conduit segment; via a programmable control unit, receiving data from the sensors and calculating energy data therefrom; and communicating energy data from the meter; whereby the method and apparatus operate without need to temporarily disconnect or alter the first or second conduit segments. The invention operates with both variable and fixed flow systems, and is especially useful for both active and passive solar energy systems.

Inventors:

Menicucci; David F. (Albuquerque, NM), Black; Billy D. (Tijeras, NM)

Assignee:

Sandia Corporation (Albuquerque, NM)

Application Number:

10/345,590

Filed:

January 15, 2003

Current U.S. Class:

374/39 ; 374/40; 374/41; 374/E17.007; 374/E17.008;

Current International Class:

G01K 17/06 (20060101); G01K 17/00 (20060101); G01K 017/06 ();

Field of Search:

374/40,39,32,41,31,147

Government Interests:

GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
The Government has rights to this invention pursuant to Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.